COMPARE – End Of Recruitment

COMPARE finishes recruitment

The world first COMPARE (Cognitive Therapy or Medication for Psychosis: A Randomised Evaluation) trial has successfully finished recruitment. The trial was funded by the National Institute of Health (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) program to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a clinical trial directly comparing a talking therapy called Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), to antipsychotic medication, to a combination of both.

Until recently, the standard treatment for psychosis has been antipsychotic medication. Antipsychotics have been proven to be helpful in reducing symptoms of psychosis in some people, however evidence suggests that many people choose to discontinue their medication due to side-effects.

Several studies have concluded that having CBT as well as medication can help to reduce symptoms further, and the recent ACTION trial (Assessment of Cognitive Therapy Instead of Neuroleptics) found that CBT can be effective in reducing symptoms in those who choose not to take antipsychotics.

The current NICE guidelines recommend CBT and/or medication for the treatment of psychosis and suggest that treatment should take into account the service user’s choice. This led to a call for a trial that could provide a direct comparison of CBT to antipsychotic medication.

Participants were eligible to take part if they were experiencing symptoms of psychosis, aged over 16 years, and not currently receiving antipsychotic medication or CBT. Participants were assessed for eligibility in a baseline assessment before being randomly allocated to one of the three treatments (CBT, antipsychotics, or both). They were then followed-up at six weeks, twelve weeks, six months and twelve months. All participants were offered physical health checks and side effect monitoring as part of their assessments.

The trial successfully recruited its target of 75 participants and received fantastic support from early intervention teams in Greater Manchester West NHS. The majority of participants who took part were male (57.3%) with an average age of 24 years. Currently, follow-ups are on-going and the team are hoping that results will be available in the next 12 months.

We promote a normalising approach to understanding psychosis. We believe experiences and beliefs commonly regarded as symptoms of psychosis are often highly understandable reactions to adverse life events. Our primary aim is to develop ways of reducing the distress of people with these experiences, as well as developing ways of restoring their autonomy and dignity.